Japan condemns apparent IS execution, demands hostage release

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday called for the immediate release of a Japanese journalist held by Islamic State after a video surfaced claiming that a fellow Japanese captive had been executed. Japanese government officials said they had not confirmed the authenticity of the recording and an image of what appeared to be the decapitated body of Japanese captive Haruna Yukawa, who went missing in Syria in August. U.S. President Barack Obama condemned the brutal murder of Yukawa in a statement released by the White House, which did not address how the United States had confirmed his killing. Earlier, U.S. National Security Council deputy spokesman Patrick Ventrell had said the U.S. intelligence community was working to verify the authenticity of the recording. Abe called for the immediate release of the remaining Japanese captive, reporter Kenji Goto.

We are using every diplomatic channel and means to work towards a release.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

The sudden escalation of the hostage crisis has become a test for Abe and the dominant news story in Japan since Tuesday when Islamic State militants released a video showing Goto and Yukawa kneeling with a knife-wielding, masked man demanding a $200 million ransom for their release. The 72-hour deadline set in the first video expired on Friday.

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